


Stories of the Second Self: Jack-In-The-Box

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [35]
Category: National Guard - Fandom, Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:13:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22521556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: Jerrod Connor and the rest of the werewolf Guardsmen of the Ohio 37th come across an abandoned hearse on approaching a town. They find that the coffin sticking halfway out the back is empty, but the thrash marks have Jerrod thinking something other than a vampire broke out.
Series: Alter Idem [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: Jack-In-The-Box

"Jerrod, check the fuckin' box," Captain Gonzales pointed.

Jerrod and a couple other guys from his squad approached the hearse with caution. It wasn't that they expected a body to jump out and attack them, but Jerrod still didn't like the surprises related to the dead.

"Don't these lock from the inside?" Leonard asked.

"Well, find out," Jerrod waved on.

Since the discovery of a vampire-on-human turning incident his platoon was given new directives, and Jerrod himself made corporal. It placed him in charge of a fire team, and for good measure he was certified with the M-203 attachment to his rifle as well as the Beowulf fifty caliber components he could switch out on if given a couple minutes.

Leonard rammed his K-bar into the seam of the lid, and found it loose and needlessly pointed that out. "Looks like it's open."

"Wait," Jerrod said, and then waved the rest of the fire team over. "Okay, Tanner, right by Leonard. David, other side."

Jerrod took the middle position at the back of the hearse and nodded for Leonard to open it. As he expected, no one was inside, however the cloth padding on lid's inner surface was shredded. It gave Jerrod chills just seeing it, which he tried to avoid showing.

"Do nightcrawlers have claws?" David asked.

"No, of course not," Jerrod answered, and then waved to the front of the crashed car, "Tanner check the seats."

"Lotta blood stains," he reported, "All of them old."

Jerrod took a look. They weren't just speckles on the dashboard and windshield with bleed out around the seats. Whatever happened, it was a prolonged violent thrashing.

"Goddamn, that's one of us," Jerrod remarked, "A howler did this."

"Why have them in a coffin?" Leonard asked.

Shaking his head, Jerrod answered, "I don't know, but I think we're gonna get into the shit with this town."


End file.
